The recently received medical report of Soni Sori, a Chattisgarh school-teacher, has revealed that two large stones were planted deep inside her vagina and another stone inside her rectum. On October 20th, 2011, the Supreme Court had ordered the government of Chhattisgarh to send Sori to NRS Medical College in the neighboring state of West Bengal for an independent medical examination, based on credible reports of her torture and sexual abuse by the Chhattisgarh police . Evidence of spinal injuries have also been found in the medical reports. These findings conclusively point to the fact that Sori was tortured while she was in the custody of the Chhattisgarh police.

The facts in the medical report are also consistent with a new letter from Soni Sori, now filed with the Supreme Court, where she has described the torture she endured under the direct supervision of the Superintendent of Police (SP), Ankit Garg. She also communicated gruesome details of her prison torture to a relative and a friend who visited her in jail, who then conveyed the information to people in New Delhi assisting her with the case. The medical report, then, corroborates Sori’s allegations of intense sexual abuse and torture by the Chhattisgarh police.

In accordance with the 113th report of the Law Commission of India that suggested modifications to the India Evidence Act 1872, any injury sustained by a person in police custody can be presumed to be caused by the police unless proven otherwise. As evidenced by independent medical examination reports and Sori’s letters, the case meets the criteria for the presumption that specifically SP Ankit Garg and the police force under his command are responsible for her injuries.

I therefore demand that

All politically motivated charges against Soni Sori be dropped and that she be released immediately.

An independent investigation be launched against those who tortured Soni Sori and implicated her on false charges; and that the police officials involved in torture, particularly SP Ankit Garg be suspended immediately, pending this inquiry.